Viewing Lent as a penitential season is not the oldest way.  In the early church, this time was spent preparing for the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation and eucharist.  (They were celebrated as one; similar to the practice in the Orthodox Church.)   Adult baptism was the norm.  Before being baptized, individuals went through an extended time of learning and living the Christian faith.  Persons in this phase of formation were called catechumens.  St. Augustine was a catechumen for almost thirty-three years!  He was not typical.

   At the beginning of Lent, those to be received into the Church became the Elect.  Lent was a time of intense preparation and scrutiny by the faith community.  For us who are already members of the Body of Christ, Lent can be a time to pray for the Elect throughout the Archdiocese and world.  It’s also a great a time to deepen our understanding and commitment to what happened to us when we were baptized years ago.   What is it we believe?

   At our baptism we died to sin and rose to new life in Christ!  We received the Holy Spirit and became a new creation.  We received a new identity: beloved child of God and member of Christ’s body, the Church.  Perhaps, it’s more accurate to say that what happened at our baptism was just the start, we are each of us, “works in progress.”  An example might help.  At baptism, we died to sin, but our experience shows that we have sinned.   As I follow the guidance of and rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit, I gradually leave my sinful choices behind and die to sin.

   Each baptismal gift needs to be awakened within us.  What does it mean, what could it mean, to be a new creation? What difference does the gift of the Holy Spirit make in my daily living?  If I am a child of God, how does this awareness effect how I live?   A worthwhile Lenten practice would be to commit to reflecting on the gifts of baptism.

   Perhaps I could start the day, slowly making the sign of the cross recalling that this was first done to me at my baptism.  Then saying to myself, “Through my baptism I have (…….each week insert the focus of the week)